Running Through Darkness
by Reign Of Avarice
Summary: Draco/OC  Two childhood friends find each other again in the war, but they're on different sides.


(A/N: Time skip like woah. I should probably just make this a separate fic, but I don't want to –shrug- Anyways, I'm posting this to see what you guys think. I would really love some input especially on Draco.)

Draco Malfoy was walking down the hallway when he first heard it. The halls or Malfoy Manor had been frequently filled with the screams of torture. His pace picked up and he cautiously entered his father's office. Belatrix Lestange's twisted figure hovering over her pray. He instantly recognized the dark hair and figure of the victim. Her hair was ragged and matted with blood. Her glazed eyes turned to stare at him.

"Dracooooo" Belatrix cooed. "You go to school with this little blood traitor, don't you?" With a flick of her wand the girl was thrown across the room into a cabinet. Glass flew everywhere and the girl crumpled pitifully in the rubble.

"What's going on here?" Todd Blaire bellowed striding into the room. His son was close behind. He looked at his step-daughter's blood body with little interest. "What happened here?" he asked looking toward Bellatrix who was slowly making her way toward the collapsed girl.

"I found her snnneaking around." She paused and made her way over the broken glass and wood. "I thought I'd teach the little rabbit a lesson."

Ash slowly opened her eyes and watched the woman approach. Liam tried to get his step-father's attention but was immediately quieted. Bellatrix smirked and turned toward the girls brother. "Boy, come here. Come here and prove your loyalty for the Dark Lord," Liam's eyes darkened as he stepped forward. Bellatrix cackled. "Your son…seems to have more promise than the dear little Draco…"  
>Then she let out a horrible scream as her knees collapsed under her and a bloody hand grabbed her wand while the other ripped out her hair. Ash stood over Bellatrix, her own wand now aimed at her neck.<p>

"Put the wand down." Todd hissed taking a step toward Ash, who only pressed the wand harder into her captive's neck.

"Ash…" Liam said quietly and cautiously taking a step forward. "Father please leave…" He asked, not breaking eye contact with his sister.

"Excuse m-"  
>"Go." Liam said with a hint of a threat lacing his tone, despite his young age. With a grunt the older man exited the room. Bellatrix cackled quietly.<p>

"Shove it." Ash snapped yanking on the woman's wild hair.

"Let her go." Liam took another step closer. Ash took a step back, pulling Bellatrix with her. "I'm not going to hurt you. Let her go…" He held his hands up showing that he was unarmed. "If you want to get out of here alive, you need to listen to me." He was slowly coming closer. Ash opened her mouth to argue but closed it again without a word. Slowly she let go of Bellatrix, before quickly backing away from the woman. Bellatrix stood and turned towards Ash with her hand outstretched.

"I'll be having my wand back little rabbit."  
>"Bellatrix get out." Liam said pushing past her.<p>

"Don't tell—"  
>"OUT" Liam bellowed causing her to jump a bit. With a sneer and a slam of the door she left.<p>

"What were you doing?" Liam whispered.

Ash let out a bark like laugh, "So you're calling him father now, are you?"

But he ignored her question just as she'd ignored his.

"Give me the wand." He slowly held out his hand toward her. Her eyes shifted nervously towards him and then to Draco who was standing by silently. With a sudden movement that made both of the boys jump she tossed up the wand and caught it by the tip. She placed the handle of the wand in Liam's outstretched palm. He took the wand and passed it to Draco. "Answer my question." Liam's tone dropped dangerously low now that she was unarmed. A look of defiance appeared on her face.

"What are you going to do little brother? Hex me," she said mockingly. He raised his hand to hit her. Draco stepped forward to intervene but Liam just as suddenly lowered his hand. There was a moment where no one moved. Liam broke the spell and went to put a hand on his sister but suddenly her eyes rolled back and she collapsed. He barely managed to catch her.

"Draco." He called as he tried to pick her up without dropping her. Draco grabbed her shoulder and helped Liam to bring her over to the couch.

"Go get Snape." Liam ordered the other boy while trying to close the wounds on his bleeding sister.

Ashlynn woke up the next day. When her eyes finally opened she was shocked to see Draco sitting next to her. He was leaning up against the backboard reading something. Without drawing attention to herself she shifted slightly to see what he was reading. The Daily Prophet. She was unable to read any of the headlines because he had closed the paper and was turning toward her. Unsure of what had transpired since she had passed out she quickly closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. As far as she could tell all of her limbs were still attached and the dark olive colored room was a far reach from the dungeon she had imagined ending up in after fighting with Bellatrix. Her ruse of being asleep was quickly broken when she felt a cold hand brushing the hair away from her face. She nearly jumped out of her skin and her eyes shot open. She looked up at Draco who seemed to be in about as much shock as she was. He quickly drew his hand back but to her surprise remained sitting next to her. She took the prolonged moment of awkwardness to glance around the room. No Bellatrix LaStrange. Doubting Malfoy was a threat she attempted to sit up. Her limbs felt like lead. For a moment she began to panic and when she tried to sit up again she felt a pair of strong hands help her up.

"Bloody hell." She moaned clutching her head as the blood ran to it. Despite the head rush she did not fail to notice his hands still supporting her. Once her head stopped spinning she put her hand back down. Her face reddened as his hand remained on her. She avoided eye contact and finally he let go.

"Here drink some water." He said taking a glass off the nightstand and placing it in her hands.

"How long have I been out?" she asked once she had passed him back the water.  
>"A little over a day…you lost a lot of blood…Snape also said you weren't in the best shape to begin with."<br>"Well that's one way to put it." She said with an unladylike snort. Draco looked at her inquiringly but no explanation came. She closed her eyes and winced in pain. Before Draco could do anything Liam quietly came into the room.

"She's awake?" he asked standing in shock.

"From the looks of it yes," Draco responded with a small chuckle.  
>"What did you think you were doing getting into a fight with her," Liam demanded in a low voice. Ash looked over to her younger brother, who suddenly seemed much older due to the lines of worry that creased his face.<p>

"Difference of opinion," Ash replied with a sardonic smile. Two days ago Ashlynn's mother and step-father had dragged her back to their home when she had helped her muggle born friend escape a pair of Death Eaters. Why they had brought her back she didn't know, she'd declared her alliances a year ago when she'd runaway to live with her aunt and her muggle husband.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Ashlynn. You need to be careful or you're going to get yourself killed." Ash glanced over to Draco who made no move to leave the room despite the personal conversation that had begun between her and her brother.

"What do you care anyways," she glared defiantly at her brother, who she'd repeated tried to convince to runaway with her. "Why am I even here? I thought you all disowned me anyways."  
>"Because Mum still cares about you, you idiot. She's trying to protect you, but with the way you're acting you might as well spit in her face."<p>

Ash felt the limited energy she had disappear as her head began to throb. "Liam bugger off," she said struggling to keep her voice steady. Her brother growled with anger before slamming the door behind him. "Why are you here," she asked as she leaned her head against the backboard. She saw Draco's pale face flush.  
>"It's quiet here," he said after a moment as he stared at the wall in front of him. Even if he didn't meet her searching gaze his face was easy to read. It was then that she felt that she understood him, if only a little. He like her brother had been dragged into a war by his parents, and remained because he couldn't bring himself to abandon his family. She on the other hand had left her family rather than follow a madman. He slid off the bed and left the room without another word.<p>

For the next week Ashlynn only left the room in the early hours of the day when people were least likely to be wandering the house. Her mother had attempted to visit her but their conversation quickly erupted into a shouting match that ended with her mother running from the room in tears. Liam came to see her in her self enforced isolation almost every day. At first they argued, trying to convince the other to change their allegiance, but Ash finally banned the subject and they spent most of their time playing wizarding chess in a comfortable silence. Every time he left the room she told him to be careful.

The next time she saw Draco was in the dead of night when he burst into the room and slid down to the ground, leaning against the closed door. She stared at him from her seat on the window sill. He'd apparently forgotten she was there as he began to shake with muffled sobs. When she cleared her throat he gave a startled jump and stared at her like a deer caught in headlights. They stared at one another for what felt like ages before he jumped up and turned to open the door.  
>"Draco." She had no idea of what to say. When they were young she would laugh at him whenever he'd cried but that had been years ago. She'd realized that he was scared when she'd woken up next to him a week ago but it was hard to reconcile the ever confident and smirking Draco from school with the horrified boy now in the room with her. His hand rested on the door knob but he didn't make a move to turn it. Cautiously, she walked over to him and placed her hand on his arm. She could feel him shaking. She wanted to comfort him, but another part of him felt that he deserved to be scared and miserable and that that was his punishment for choosing to side with Voldemort, but she couldn't just write him off like that, not when her brother was doing the same thing. And not when he'd once been her friend. She had to believe there was some hope of redemption for him and for Liam. "Draco," her voice cracked as she pulled him to face her. She brushed a tear on his face away. She pulled him forward and wrapped her arms around him as he buried his face into her shoulder. Silent sobs wracked his body and his knees gave out, with a small grunt she supported him and lowered the two of them to the floor where his sobs slowly quieted. She ran one hand through his hair, in an effort to comfort him. She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that when they were both shaken from the spell when Lucius's voice carried into the room, calling for Draco. He tensed before sitting up and wiping his damp face with the back of his hand. Ash stood and grabbed under one of his arms to help him get up. Lucius called him again and before leaving he gave Ash a small but appreciative smile.<p> 


End file.
